Being Home
by RHfan
Summary: Sequel to How To Tell The Truth. Being back at home after being stranded on an island can mean good things to come, and bad things. Same pairings.
1. Home

Hello again, everybody. I apologize for just now putting this up, but I got a little busy. This story, unlike my last one, isn't completed. So if there is something you would like to suggest for this story feel free to tell me. I'm not saying it will definitely be put in but if I like it, it might be. Hope you guys like the story. Here it goes.

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Chapter 1- Home

It was three days after they had arrived home. The pilot, Abby, Ian, and Jory had been found and had arrived home the day before. Everyone was trying to get back to how things were before they left, but they found it hard to do that after all they had been through.

Daley sat on the chair in Lex's room, while Lex sat at his computer. Occasionally laughter could be heard behind the closed door. Daley and Lex's parents were surprised at how friendly they acted towards each other. Before they left the two barely talked to each other and now they were the best of friends. Daley and Lex tried to explain to their parents that they had really bonded out in the jungle.

"So do you think everything is going to be different with you and Nathan now that we're home?" Lex asked Daley.

"I'm not sure. At least it's summer and I don't have to worry about school yet. Nathan and I can just kind of focus on us right now. I think we should be okay." She answered him.

"Where is Nathan today anyway, you haven't talked to him all day."

"He called this morning. He's at the park with his little sister. He'll come over after dinner."

Lex could see the smile creep onto Daley's face.

- - - - - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - -- - - -

Eric had been taking a walk around town trying to find something to do. He was just so bored now that he didn't have to do chores to survive. The problem was that there wasn't much in this town to do. He had walked past the school, thank god it was summer, he thought to himself. He already bought an ice cream from the corner vendor. He was now walking past the pool where a numerous amount of five year olds were being yelled at by a lifeguard for running around the pool deck, and the _wait a minute..._

He opened the gate and entered the pool area. Slowly he walked up to a blonde girl who was lying on her back in a pool chair.

"Do you mind? You're blocking my light." The blonde spat at him.

"Sorry, Taylor. I should have remembered that you value your tan." Eric playfully spat back at her.

Taylor sat up and opened her eyes. "Eric what are you doing here?"

"I was on a walk and I just happened to stumble upon you in here. Don't I get a kiss?" Eric asked.

"Of course you do." She reached over and gave him a light kiss. "I was bored so I decided to come work on my tan." 

"I was bored too. You could have called me and I would of come over. I bet we wouldn't have been bored then." He smiled playfully at her.

"Ha, Ha. Very funny. And I did call you, but your dad told me you were on a walk." She smiled the same smile back. Taylor got up and put her shorts on, and packed up her towel. Together her and Eric walked out of the pool area, to finish their walk.

- - - - - - - - - -- -- - - -- - -- -- - -

Jackson was sitting in his hammock in the backyard of his foster home. He was watching the rest of the foster kids in the home run around the yard playing tag.

There was Nick, he was 13 with shaggy blond hair that hung down just above his dark blue eyes, and he thought he was all high and mighty. Typical 13-year-old boy. He wasn't playing tag though, it wasn't cool.

Then there was Karen and Kim; they were eight-year-old twin sisters, and complete opposites. Kim was the tough one, a demon in disguise so to say, while Karen was the shy, sensitive one. They both shared the same long brown hair and big brown eyes. If they didn't act so different, Jackson wouldn't be able to tell them apart on a count of their foster mother. See, she liked to get sucked into that silly unwritten rule that is dress your twins alike until they get enough of a backbone to tell you they can dress themselves. Jackson thought it was a little ridiculous but figured it wasn't exactly squashing their creativity.

And rounding out the bunch was Danielle, a five-year-old little girl with curly blond locks who Jackson had nicknamed Dannie. They had instantly gravitated towards each other when he arrived. Weird, huh. A five year old and a sixteen year old being friends? Not so much actually. He looked out for her when her sisters picked on her, and she was always there to make him smile. He loved her more than anything.

As Jackson watched Kim chase Karen around the yard, and Dannie trying to keep up with them, a smile grew on his face. This had been the best house he had even been in, and he loved each of the people in it. He felt so lucky to be living here, so fortunate to have a great group of friends, and so... so... bored.

There wasn't much to do today so he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He started to dial. 5-5-5-3-7...

A pair of hands rested on his shoulders from behind him.

"Hey, I was just about to call you." Jackson moved to the right a little bit so Melissa could sit down.

"I hope you don't mind, Nick let me in." She sat down beside him. She had only met his family a few days ago, but she had already grown on them.

"No, I don't mind at all." He leaned towards her and gave her a kiss. Just then they heard a set of giggles being suppressed.

"Karen, Kim, and Dannie will you guys please go inside?" Jackson asked them.

They all turned to go inside, and the two could faintly here the twins singing, "Jackson and Melissa sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

"I'm sorry about them. They can sometimes be a handful."

"They'll grow out of it. I remember being that way when I was little. My big sister and me would follow my older brother around. We would laugh at him and his girlfriend, even though we really liked her."

Jackson looked a little puzzled. "I didn't know you had a brother."

Melissa's face fell a little bit. "Yeah, Colin. He graduated college about 3 years ago, and moved to New York City to become a fire fighter. It was something he had always wanted to do. He wanted to help save people's lives. One day, he ran into a burning building and he never came out."

Even though Melissa didn't look very sad, he could tell she was still hurt by this. "I'm sorry. How come you've never told me this before?"

"I don't know. I don't really talk much about him. I wasn't as close to him as I am my sister. I think it was the age difference. I definitely miss him, but he knew what he was getting into to, and he was okay with it." Jackson had pulled Melissa into a hug.

"I'm sorry that that happened to him, and you. It's not really fair."

Melissa pulled out of the hug and looked him in the face. "It's nothing compared to the pain you've felt in life."

"Different people have different pain, Mel. One's no easier than the other. But my pain has gotten easier since I found you." He pulled Melissa into another deep kiss, and once again heard giggles coming from the upstairs window.

"Girls!!!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nathan sat on the park bench watching his ten year old sister Maria run around the playground with the other kids in the park. They had been there for a while and Nathan was getting bored.

"Maria, come on, it's time to go home." Nathan shouted to her.

"Just ten more minutes." Maria pleaded with him. He wasn't falling for it.

"No, we need to leave now." Maria climbed down from the jungle gym and ran over to him.

"You just want to leave so you can go hang out with Daley."

"No, we have to be home for dinner. And what do you have against Daley?" Nathan asked her as they started their walk home.

"Nothing. I like her, she's nice."

"Are you mad that I hang out with her a lot. Do you feel like I don't have time for you anymore?"

"I understand that you really like Daley. I do too; I think she makes you happy. I just have to learn to accept that I won't be able to hang with you so much. Now I have to hang out with Josh. Goodie..." Both of them laughed at her comment. Josh was their 14-year-old brother. Maria wasn't as close to him as she was with Nathan. He thought it was uncool to hang out with your little sister, but Nathan didn't care.

"Thanks Maria. It means a lot to me that you like her too." He said as they approached their house. "And no matter what. I will always be there for you. I promise. Now let's get inside before mom gets mad."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Daley and Lex were sitting down to dinner with their parents.

"So Daley." Lex's mom started. "How's Nathan? Is he coming over later?"

"Yeah he's going to come over after dinner once I call him."

"Well, we think Nathan's a great guy." Daley's dad said.

"Thanks Dad. May I be excused?" She asked. Her dad nodded.

Daley walked into her room and began to call Nathan.

"Hello."

"Hey Nathan. Do you still want to come over?"

"Um, sure. I have an idea though. How about we get the rest of the group to come over?"

"I guess so. Let me ask my dad if it's okay." Nathan could hear Daley attempt to cover the phone and shout through the house. "My dad says it's fine. You call Jackson and Melissa and I'll call Taylor and Eric."

"Okay." Nathan replied. "I'll see you in about an hour."

"Okay. See you soon. Bye."

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Okay, I know. A little dull, but it's just the first chapter. I had to explain about everyone's family so I could get a background on them. Review and tell me what you thought of the chapter and any ideas you have for the story.


	2. The Movie Party

Okay, I decided to finish up this chapter. It's not all that exciting, just a small event to bring them all together. Hope you enjoy it anyway.

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Chapter 2- The movie party

_Ring...Ring...Ring..._

Jackson's cell phone started to ring, startling both Jackson and Melissa who had fallen asleep on the hammock. He looked at the screen and pressed the answer button.

"Hello."

Melissa listened as Jackson continued to talk to whoever was on the other end of the phone call.

"Yeah, she's right here hold on a second." He placed his finger over the speaker and turned to Melissa. "Daley and Nathan would like to know if we could come over? Do you want to?"

"Sure that's fine, why not."

"Nathan." Jackson said after he uncovered the speaker. "Sure we can come over. Do you want us to bring anything? Okay, we'll be over in a few minutes. Bye." Jackson closed the phone.

Jackson pulled Melissa up from the hammock. "He says we can pick a movie to bring over, so let's go pick one and hit the road."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -

As Daley was getting some snacks poured out into bowls the doorbell rang.

"Hey Lex." Daley shouted. "Could you let whoever that is in please, my hands are covered in cheese puff dust."

Lex walked to the door. It was Taylor and Eric. He invited them in and they took off their shoes. Lex noticed Taylor brought the movie "Honey" and Eric brought "Scary Movie." Typical Eric and Taylor. Lex noticed Jackson and Melissa coming up the walk. Quickly he opened the door and they greeted him and Taylor and Eric. Jackson and Melissa had done better than Taylor and Eric because they decided on one movie. "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Daley walked into the room. "Hey guys we better get the movies started if we're going to get to all of them." Everyone went into the living room except Lex. "Hey, is Nathan not here yet?" Daley looked out the window to see if he was coming.

"No, not yet. He's probably just running late like always. Let's go get the movies started."

As they walked into the living room, Jackson and Melissa had outnumbered the other two in movie choices and the opening scene of the pirate movie was already rolling on the T.V. screen. Eric immediately snatched up the bowl of pretzels, and the bowl of popcorn was settled in between Taylor and Lex on the floor.

After about five minutes the doorbell rang letting Daley know that Nathan was here. She got up from her chair and went to the door to let him in. When she opened the door Nathan was standing with Maria at his side.

"Hey Daley. Sorry I'm late; someone was taking forever to get ready. I figured she and Lex could hang out if they wanted. That's okay right?"

"Of course, that's okay. Lex and Maria get along great. Come on, the movies are already started."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was only about ten in the evening. Pirates had already ended and they were halfway through "Honey." Maria turned around to grab some popcorn from the bowl behind her, and when she turned around she saw everyone else was asleep.

"You have got to be kidding me. It's like only ten o'clock. We're still awake."

"Really, I mean, what do teenagers do all day that can make them this tired?" Lex pulled the popcorn bowl in between him and Maria.

"Why did Taylor have to pick this movie? It's not even that good." Maria didn't really enjoy "Honey" as much as the average girl. In her eyes it was just a stupid movie about dancing that took way to long to watch.

"Well, I got this new computer game before I left for the trip. If you want we could go play it?" Lex asked her.

"What are we going to do about the sleeping beauties?"

Lex sighed. "I'll go get them some blankets."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Jackson rolled over in his sleep, but he woke up as soon as he realized he basically rolled over on Melissa.

"Sorry." Jackson whispered to her as she started to wake up. "You would think after sleeping in that tent with everyone, I would get used to sleeping in close quarters."

"It's okay, can you just...wait...what time is it?"

"Jackson pulled out his cell phone to check the time. "It's almost midnight."

Melissa looked around at everyone else. "Where are Lex and Maria?" She looked at Jackson who just shrugged. She gently shook Daley awake. "Daley, Daley, wake up."

"Lex and Maria aren't here." Jackson told her.

"I'm sure they're here somewhere. They are probably upstairs or something."

Just as she was about to go look for them, Lex and Maria came downstairs into the living room.

"Why good morning sleeping beauties, did you have a nice nap." Maria asked.

"Where did you guys go?" Daley asked them.

"Since you guys went to sleep we went to my room and played on the computer." Lex told her.

"Oh well, Maria you can sleep in my room and you can borrow some pajama's if you want."

"Thanks Daley." Lex and Maria both went back upstairs.

"Now can we please go back to sleep now?" There was no response. She looked back over at her friends. They had already fallen back to sleep, taking up the remaining space on the couch not leaving much for Daley. "Thanks guys. Thanks loads."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was now morning and Taylor and Eric had already left. Taylor had a nail appointment and Eric was going to walk her home. Jackson was getting ready to leave. Jackson's foster parents were going to visit a friend of theirs and Jackson had said he would watch the kids. He gave Melissa a kiss and said goodbye to the rest of his friends.

As Daley was gathering up the blankets and pillows from the living room, Nathan and Melissa picked up all of the snack bowls.

"So Mel." Nathan started. "How is everything with you and Jackson?"

"We're good. Why? Shouldn't we be?" She questioned.

"No you should, I was just wondering how he is now that we are back."

"He's okay. His family is really nice, I definitely think he likes it there."

"That's a good thing. It probably means he'll be staying for a long time." He smiled at her.

"I hope so." She looked at her watch. "Oh, I've got to get going. I told my mom I would make lunch today." Melissa walked through the living room. "Bye Daley, thank you."

"See you later Mel." Daley called as Melissa walked out the door.

"Well, we better get going too." Nathan told Daley. "I need to get Maria home before her swim team practice."

"Are you sure you have to go so soon?" Daley whined then gave him a kiss.

"Yes. I'm sorry. I'll call you later though, okay?" He moved to the bottom of the stairs. "Maria come on, we need to get going."

Maria came running down the stairs with Lex right behind her. "Okay, okay. I'm here let's go."

"Bye Daley, I'll see you later." He kissed her goodbye. "Bye Lex."

"Bye Nathan." He said back.

"Bye Lex. I'll see you soon?" Maria called back towards him.

"Um, yeah, sure, I mean, that would be great. Bye." Lex stammered at her. Daley closed the door. She turned towards her brother and stared at him.

"What?" Lex asked as he realized Daley was looking at him.

"Do you like her?" She asked him.

"Of course I like her, she's my friend."

"No, I mean, really like her, like her."

"What? No! Daley, she's just my friend." Lex tried to fight back.

"Okay Lex, whatever you say."

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Well there it is. Chapter 2 in all its glory. I promise next chapter will be better, but review on this one anyway. It keeps me going. Oh, and remember, if you have an idea for the story I will still consider them. I have a few ideas of what I would like to happen but I'm not 100 sure yet. So your ideas might influence me one way or the other. Review!


	3. Adventures in Babysitting

So, I hope this chapter is good. It's pretty much only Jackson and Melissa, but we also see a little 'thing' start to happen for someone unexpected. Next chapter will be better, I promise. Here goes…

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Chapter 3- Adventures in Babysitting

1...2...3...4...5

Jackson was counting to ten. No he wasn't trying to calm himself down. He was playing hide-n-go seek with the girls. He of course was **it**. He didn't mind though, it wasn't like they were hard to find. The majority of the time the twins gave away their position because they couldn't stop laughing and he didn't think Dannie really understood how to play because she normally gave herself up before he found her. But as long as they were being entertained, he was fine with it.

6...7...8...9...10

"Ready or not, here I come!"

_Ding Dong. _

"Right after I answer the door." He walked to the front of the house and peered outside. He didn't know this person but they looked okay. He opened the door.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Hi. I was just going around the neighborhood to let people know about our church. Would you be interested in coming to check us out?" The man handed Jackson a pamphlet.

"Um, thanks but, with my record they probably wouldn't let me in." The man looked a little confused. "Anyway, my family isn't really the church type so I don't think so." He handed the pamphlet back to the man.

"That's alright. Thank you for your time." Jackson closed the door as the man walked away.

"Who was that Jackson?" Karen asked him.

"Just someone handing out information. Now let me count again and you guys go hide."

1...2...3...4...5...6..._Ding Dong._

"Uhh, what now?" Jackson headed for the door.

As he opened the door he said, "I already told you, we don't...oh hey." It wasn't the man again. It was Melissa.

"Hey. You were expecting someone else I guess." She laughed at his outburst.

"Yeah, there's this man and he's passing out pamphlets about this church and I...never mind. Come inside. You can help me baby-sit." He opened the door a little wider and let her come in.

"Melissa!" Three little girls came to greet her.

"Hey, are you guys having fun?"

"Yeah, we're playing hide and seek." Kim told her. "Come hide with us." Karen said.

"But that's four against one. That's so not fair." Jackson protested. "If you get Melissa, then I get Dannie."

"Yeah, because Danielle's _so_ good at this game." Kim said sarcastically. She and Karen laughed.

"Okay miss smarty. You three go hide and me and Dannie will come and find you."

1...2...3...4...5

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lex sat in his room at his computer. He was still playing the game he was playing earlier when his instant message popped up. He clicked to open it. It was from Maria. He definitely liked Maria, but he couldn't tell her. She was the first girl he'd ever liked.

SwimStar: Hey Lex. Want to go to the park this afternoon?

SmartKid: Sure why not. I'll be there around 3.

"Yes!" Lex thought to himself. Or at least he thought it was to himself.

"What are you so excited about?" Daley asked as she walked past his room.

"Um nothing." He needed a plan. "Hey, Daley. I'm going down to the park for a little while. My friend Matt wants to hang out."

"Who's Matt?"

"He's this boy who was in my class last year." He didn't exactly lie to Daley. There really was a Matt in his class last year.

"Okay, but be back before dinner or our parents will freak."

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6...7...8...9...10

"Ready or not here we come!" Dannie shouted as she and Jackson started to search for them.

He looked in the closet, behind the couch, in the clothes hamper, even in the tub. He figured Melissa had found a really good spot for them to hide. If it were just the twins, he would have found them by now.

"Dannie have you found them yet?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"Okay guys. We give up."

They all walked downstairs laughing.

"Where were you guys hiding?" Jackson asked them.

"Under our beds." Karen told him.

"It was Melissa's idea." Kim said.

They all sat down on the couch. "That was me and my sister's best hiding spot when my brother would play with us."

"Okay girls, enough hide and seek. Go play outside." Karen and Kim ran out the back sliding door with Dannie hot on their heels.

Jackson scooted closer to Melissa and placed an arm around her. "So what do you want to do now?" He placed a few kisses on her cheek.

"We are not making out while you are babysitting." Melissa put a hand on his chest to make sure he kept his distance.

"I know that silly. I was just joking. I'll be a good boy." He got up off of the couch and went into the kitchen. The kitchen and the living room were divided only by a wall that came halfway from the floor to the ceiling. "Do you want something to drink? We've got water, lemonade, cream soda. Name your poison."

"Water's fine."

"Pick out a movie from the stack there and I'll put it on."

"Well, we never did finish Pirates of the Caribbean." She took the movie out of its case and handed it to him as he set the drinks down. He put it into the machine and pressed play. He checked to make sure the girls were okay and then sat back down next to Melissa.

"When are your foster parents coming home?"

"Probably not until five-ish. They went to visit a friend who's moving." He scooted closer to her.

"Where's Nick? I haven't seen him at all today."

"Whenever we have to baby-sit I'm always the one who does all the babysitting. He doesn't think it's cool to hang out with your siblings."

Melissa laughed. "I get it. He's thirteen. My brother didn't think I was cool when we were little."

"Well sometimes I think he needs to learn how to have fun and chill." As he finished saying this Nick walked down the stairs.

"I'll be out of here in a second, I'm just grabbing a soda." Nick said grabbing a soda out of the fridge.

Melissa looked at Jackson. He knew what she was thinking. He just shrugged.

"Hey Nick, why don't you come watch the movie with us?" Melissa asked him.

"I'd rather not have to sit and watch you two make out the entire time." He continued walking.

"Dude, we're not making out. We're just watching a movie. Come sit down, you need to get out of that room of ours." Jackson persisted.

"Fine, whatever." Nick plopped himself down on the chair.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lex shut down his computer, sprayed on some axe, and ran down the stairs.

"Hey Lex, wait a minute." Daley called after him. "This came for you in the mail." She handed the mail to him.

"Oh, it's my school schedule for next year. I can't believe I'm starting sixth grade and going to the junior high school."

"I know, you'll be in the school that's connected to mine. Maybe we'll even run into each other sometimes.

"I hope so. See you later Daley." Lex went towards the door.

"Remember, back by dinner." Daley called as he went out the door.

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Like I said, kind of one sided. But review nonetheless. It makes me feel good.


	4. Do What You Feel Is Right

So I guess I have some explaining to do huh? Well I started a job in the summer. I had to be there at eight in the morning until late at night, so I didn't really have much time to write. Then I went to State Fair Choir where I had absolutely no access to a computer for 3 weeks. Then I went to an amusement park, and now I'm leaving tomorrow to visit my sick grandmother, three hours away. So I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in a while but I hope you all forgive me. Here we go again!

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Chapter 4- Do What You Feel Is Right

Eric sat on his bed with his cell phone in his hand. It was around three o'clock so he figured Taylor was finished with her nail appointment, so he decided to call her.

"Hey Taylor, what are you doing?"

"Well for the next two days, I'm stuck in my room with nothing to do." Taylor rolled over onto her back. She was lying on her bed in her room.

"What do you mean?" Eric asked her.

"I'm grounded. My sister and me got into some argument when she came to pick me up; it's no big deal. But my parents grounded us both when we were still arguing as we came in the door. They said that we need to learn to be nicer to each other."

"Maybe you guys should learn to be nicer to each other." Eric switched the phone to his other ear.

"What are you saying? You know my sister. Her whole purpose in life is to make my life a living hell. She always has to be smarter than me, prettier than me, funnier than me. Everything I do, she has to do something greater." Taylor never really got along with her sister, Brittney. She was 18, and always rubbed it in Taylor's face that she was older. But Taylor's nightmares would soon be over when her sister went to college in a few months.

"I'm just saying that maybe, you need to really learn to get along with her before your sister goes off to college. What if she goes away and you guys are still mad like this. I know you guys love each other, and I think you both need to really let the other one know that before she goes away." Eric hoped they would both bury the hatchet.

"I guess." Was all Taylor could say.

"Look, you don't have to take my advice. I just wish you would."

"Thanks. Hey I have to go, my mom's coming up the stairs and I'm not suppose to be on the phone. I'm grounded remember."

"That's fine. I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah, bye." Taylor lowered the phone to turn it off but stopped as she heard Eric's voice.

"Wait, Taylor. I love you, okay. Don't be upset, about your sister. Everything will be fine."

Thanks Eric, I love you too. Bye." This time Taylor hung up the phone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lex entered the park and instantly saw Maria sitting on a swing. He walked over and sat on the one beside her.

"Hey Maria."

"Hey Lex." She looked at a piece of paper sticking out of his pocket. "Oh cool, you got your schedule too." She pulled hers out of her pocket.

"Yeah, I just grabbed it as I was walking out of the door. I didn't really get a chance to look at it." Lex opened his to see what classes he had.

"What's your homeroom?" Maria asked him.

"Um, World History with Mr. Blackwell."

"Room 223?" He nodded his head. "Me too. That means our lockers will be close to each other. Probably right next to each other, since their done alphabetically."

After ten minutes of talking about their schedules they discovered that they had World History, Lunch, and Art together.

"This year is going to be so cool, don't you think so?" Maria asked him.

"Um yeah, really cool." Lex stammered.

"Are you alright? You seem a little, not all here." She placed her hand on his shoulder, concerned.

"Um, I'm fine." He sighed. "Maria there's something I want to say."

"Hey Lex!"

Lex turned around to where the sound was coming from. It was Melissa and Jackson. They were walking towards him. He turned back towards Maria. "Never mind. It's not important."

"It's okay." Maria stood up. "I have to go anyway. Bye."

Lex watched sadly as she walked away. But then he noticed that she left her schedule on the ground. He would take it to her later.

"Hey. Where's Maria going?" Jackson asked Lex.

"Um, she had to go home. What are you guys doing here I thought you were babysitting?"

"We are. The girls wanted to go to the park. You and Maria seemed to be getting along great. We didn't interrupt anything right?" Jackson asked.

Lex sighed. "No, it wasn't anything important."

Melissa and Jackson shared a look when they noticed the tone in Lex's voice.

"Um, it looks like Danielle needs some help on the monkey bars." She nudged her head in Lex's direction, then took off for where the girls were playing.

When she was far enough Jackson took a seat in the swing Maria once occupied.

"What's going on buddy?"

"If I tell you, do you promise to keep it to yourself?" That was a silly question to ask. Lex knew Jackson wouldn't tell anyone.

"Of course, you know I will."

"Okay." Lex turned toward Jackson. "I sort of, like Maria."

"Oh, you mean; like her, like her." He turned toward Lex.

"Yeah, and I was going to tell her, but then you came."

"Oh Lex. I'm really sorry." Jackson felt really bad.

"No, I'm not mad at you guys. I'm sort of glad you came. What if I told her and she doesn't like me back?" Lex stared down at his shoes.

"What's not to like? Come on, your smart, funny, very handsome. You're totally fun to hang out with." Jackson and Lex both laughed. "Honestly I can't tell you what to do, but I think you should just follow what's in your heart."

"Thanks Jackson. I think I know what I'm going to do."

"Anytime buddy, anytime."

- - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - -

Nathan was sitting on the couch watching T.V. when a pillow was flung across the room. He looked to see Maria basically tearing up the living room.

"Hey! Hey! What are you doing? I'm trying to watch this." Nathan got up to replace the cushions and pillows that were displaced in Maria outburst.

"Where is it? Where is it? I had it just a while ago and now it's gone." She continued to search under the couch.

"What's gone?" Nathan asked as he looked under the couch as well. "Wait, why am I looking? I don't even know what I'm looking for."

"My schedule for next year. I had it earlier and now it's gone." She had now moved into the kitchen.

"Didn't you go to the park today. Maybe you left it there."

"Nathan, you're a genius. I must have left it at the park." She had a plan now. She would retrace her steps back to the park. She ran to the front door and ran outside, running over Lex in the process. They both toppled over into the grass.

"Lex, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." She quickly got up from the ground. He followed, both blushing bright red. "I'm really sorry, I was just in a hurry."

"It's okay. I was just coming over to bring you this." He held up a piece of paper.

"My schedule. Where did you find it?" She took the paper from him.

"It must have fallen out of your pocket when you left the park."

"Thank you, Lex." She reached forward and gave him a hug. When they split apart they both turned away from each other.

"So, um." Maria started. "I guess I'll just go back inside." She stepped back onto her porch.

"Wait, Maria." She turned back around. "I never got to say what I wanted to at the park."

"Yeah?" She stepped a little bit closer to him.

"Um, I was just wondering, if maybe. I mean, I really. Would you like to, maybe." Okay Lex, it's now or never. "I really like you, and I was just wondering if maybe you would like to go out sometime?"

"Like, on a date?" She was blushing. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Okay then. How about you meet me at the park tomorrow around one?" He was also trying to keep the redness in his cheeks down to a minimum.

"I'll be there." As he turned to leave she called to him. "Hey Lex?"

He turned back around. "Yeah?"

She walked forward until she was right in front of him. Slowly she leaned forward and gave him a small kiss. "I really like you too."

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So there is the next chapter. Hope you guys liked it. Aren't Lex and Maria cute? Review and tell me what you thought.


	5. A Truth Comes Out, And a Few Lies

Okay so here is the next chapter of this story…not much else to say besides school started. Whoopee. Enjoy

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Chapter 5- A truth comes out; and a few lies.

Lex had arrived home that evening a little later than he should of. Okay, maybe a lot later than he should of. It was five thirty, and dinner was getting ready to start.

"Lex, where have you been? I told you to be home before dinner." Daley told him as he came in the door.

"I know I'm sorry, I just had to take care of something." Lex took off his shoes and headed for the kitchen to wash his hands.

"Take care of what?" Daley asked as she grabbed the bowl of salad and placed it on the table.

"Just something okay, forget it. I'm sorry I was late."

"Okay. Sorry I asked."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -- - - --

"Maria, time for dinner." Maria's parents called for her to come downstairs. She came down and sat at the table in-between Nathan and Josh.

So Maria, did you find your schedule?" Nathan asked.

"Um, yeah. Lex found it at the park and he brought it over." She tried to keep the blushing in her cheeks down.

Josh saw it though. "Lex, huh. Is that the boy you're crushing on?"

Maria figured there was no use lying. "Um, kind of. He's a really nice boy."

Nathan noticed Maria's discomfort so he decided to help her out. "Mom, Dad. You guys know Lex. He's Daley's little brother. He was basically the main reason we survived on the island. He came up with all these great ideas to help us live, and he was able to get the radio working again to radio for help."

"Well he sounds like a very nice boy." Their mother, Helen, said.

"Thanks mom."

Everyone went back to their dinner.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jackson and Melissa were still at the park with the girls. Jackson looked at his watch and realized it was about six o'clock.

"Come on guys, it's six. Let's get a move on."

All the girls got off the playground and ran over toward Jackson.

"So are you going to walk home from here? You can come to my house for dinner. I think Greg's going to cook out on the grill." Jackson asked Melissa. Greg is the name of Jackson's foster dad.

"Thanks, but I promised my dad I'd be home for dinner, which probably started five minutes ago." She gave him a kiss goodbye. "Another time?"

"Absolutely." Jackson continued to watch her as she walked away. He only took his eyes off of her when he heard giggles coming from his feet. All three were laughing at him.

"What?" He asked them as they started on their walk home.

"Oh nothing." Karen said.

"We're just laughing at that silly look on your face." Kim tried to do an impression of him, sending Karen and Danielle into a laughing fit.

"Very funny, Kim." Jackson gave her a small harmless smack on the shoulder.

"I like Melissa too." Dannie spoke up.

"You do, huh."

"We all do." Kim said.

"Well, what do you like about her?" Jackson asked them.

Karen spoke for all three of them. "She's nice to us, she's lots of fun, she's really pretty, and you're happier when she's around."

Jackson was amazed at how much they paid attention.

"You think I'm happier when she's around?"

All three answered in unison. "Duh."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - --

Eric had already finished his frozen dinner. His dad wasn't coming home from work for another hour. He was a dentist and today he was working late to finish some paperwork. His mother left a half an hour ago for her job. She was a nurse and worked the nightshift at the hospital, and wouldn't be home until ten the next morning. So naturally being an only child, Eric was left to fend for himself when it came to dinner.

As he walked back into his room, a picture sitting on the dresser caught his eye. It was one his mom had taken of him and Taylor as they were getting off the rescue plane. He remembered the conversation that he had with her earlier that day. He felt he might have pushed his opinion on her a little too much.

He sat down on the bed as he picked up the picture and continued looking at it. Suddenly he got an idea. He ran downstairs and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.

_Dad,_

_Went to Taylor's house. Everyone's going to be there. Won't be back till late._

_Eric_

Okay so he lied a little. What was he supposed to say? He was going to Taylor's to sneak her out of the house while she was grounded? No, he definitely had to lie.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The doorbell rang at Nathan's house and Josh made his way to open the door.

"Hey Daley, come on in, Nathan's upstairs." He moved to let her in.

"Thanks. He left me a message to come over. It sounded kind of important." She walked up the stairs to Nathan's room and knocked on his door. Suddenly the door opened and Nathan pulled her in.

"Whoa, Nathan." Daley was taken aback. "What is it?"

"Did you know?" Nathan asked her. He didn't sound angry, he sounded surprised.

"Know what?"

"About Maria and Lex."

She was a little confused. "What about them?"

"Well, tonight at dinner Maria kind of admitted that she had a crush on Lex. He brought her schedule to her after she left it at the park."

Daley sat on the bed next to Nathan. "Lex was acting weird after he came home. But he went to the park with other friends, not Maria."

"No, Maria was there to meet Lex."

"He lied to me." Lex had always told her the truth. "I guess he just didn't want to tell me because he didn't want me to know."

"So, maybe he was a little embarrassed. But from what Maria tells me, they have a, quote unquote, date." He put air quotes around the word date. "They're meeting at the park to hang out."

"Wow, remember when we were both afraid to tell each other how we felt." Nathan nodded. "That must have been how Lex was feeling. Thanks for telling me this Nathan. I'm going to head home now. See you later." Daley stood up to leave, but when she reached the door she heard Nathan call her name.

"Daley, aren't you forgetting something?" She shrugged. "A little thank you for the boy you're dating."

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot." She walked back over and gave him a kiss before she left. Nathan watched her go as he gave a slight laugh at the girl he loved so much.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Slight snoring was the only noise that could be heard coming from Taylor's room. There was nothing to do but sleep. Because of Taylor's grounding she couldn't be on the phone, she couldn't be on the computer, she couldn't watch T.V., or listen to music; so she had nothing to do but sleep.

Suddenly Taylor was awoken by small stones hitting her bedroom window. She went to the window and opened it up. When she looked down, she saw Eric standing on her lawn.

"Eric." She yelled down to him. "What are you doing?"

"Do you want to go to a movie?" He asked her.

"What? Eric you know I'm grounded."

"I know that. I'm going to help you sneak out."

"I don't know Eric. What if I get in trouble?" Her parents would probably never notice she's gone.

"It's okay. I'll help you. Climb down the plant ladder thingy."

"I can't believe I'm doing this." She climbed out of her window and onto the 'plant ladder thingy' as Eric called it. Once she hit the ground she grabbed Eric's hand and started to run out of the yard. "Come on, let's get out of here before my parents see us.

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Oooooh…Taylor being a rebel. Will she get away with it or will someone catch her? Find out next time.


	6. Forgiveness

I don't even deserve to have my story read by you guys because it took me so long to get this next chapter up. Once my school play started I barely had time to do my schoolwork and learn my dances for show choir and I couldnt get to the story. I'm so sorry, but I hope that you enjoy this next chapter. If you forgot whats been happening then re-read the last chapter to refresh your memory. You guys are the best!

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Chapter 6- forgiveness

Eric and Taylor had spent the evening at the movie theatre. But the movie had ended and it was time for Taylor to go home before she got into trouble.

"Okay Cinderella. Let's get you home before you turn into a pumpkin." Eric joked.

Taylor laughed. "Eric, the princess doesn't turn into the pumpkin, the carriage does."

"Well let's get you home before my car turns into a pumpkin."

They had made it to Taylor's street and Eric parked a few houses down from hers. They got out of the car and moved to the backyard. Taylor had thought she was just going to climb back up the 'plant ladder thingy' and back through her window. She looked up and noticed a slight problem. Her window wasn't open. She turned her head towards Eric.

"Okay, minor set back." Eric was starting to get worried. Maybe her parents found out that she was gone.

"The wind must have blown it shut. I'll just have to go through the back door. My sister always forgets to lock it after she comes home. It should still be unlocked." She moved to the door and quietly turned the handle. Once she saw she could get in, she signaled to Eric that he could leave.

She tiptoed as quietly as she could inside the house and closed the door behind her. She crossed the kitchen and made it to the stairs.

"Phew, I made it."

"Not exactly!" The lights turned on and Taylor turned around. She didn't know if it was better or worse that her sister was standing there instead of her parents.

"Where were you?" Her sister asked. "I thought you were grounded. Wouldn't mom and dad love to hear about this."

Taylor turned to head up the stairs.

"You're not going to beg and plead with me to not tell?" The sarcastic tone in Brittney's voice was enough for Taylor to want to hit her.

Taylor turned around to face her. "Why should I. It doesn't matter what I want, you're just going to tell them anyway. It wouldn't matter that I'm your sister, and maybe just once in a while it would be nice if you sided with me."

"What do you mean? I'm on your side most of the time."

"Don't be ridiculous Brittney, you're never on my side." Taylor voice had started to rise as she began to get angry. "You always go against me every time. Mom always ends up believing your story even though most of the time I'm right."

"Name one time."

"You want me to name one?" Taylor was amazed Brittney thought she wouldn't be able to actually name an occurrence. "Two years ago. You had just gotten your drivers license. You asked me to go with you to the store. On the way back you asked if I wanted to drive. I didn't think it was a good idea, but you said it would be fine. One of our parents' friends saw us, and mom and dad found out. When they asked us who thought of it, you said it was my idea and that you tried to tell me not to. I got grounded for a month and all that happened to you was that I wasn't aloud to be in the car with you. Which was probably a blessing for you because you didn't have to drive me anywhere." Taylor was almost yelling at this point and tears had begun to fall down her cheeks.

"You were seen driving. You were already going to be in trouble. I only said that because it was better that only one of us be in trouble instead of both of us."

"Oh please, you wanted to look like the good guy don't kid yourself!"

"Look, Taylor. I probably should have told them the truth."

"Yeah, you should have. I have to deal with this stuff all of the time. Whenever I did a great thing, you did a better one. Whenever I got a job, you got a better one. Whenever I got a good grade, you got a better one. I get that your better than me, but why do you have to rub it in my face?"

"I'm sorry." Brittney never really saw how hurt her sister had been until now. "I didn't know you felt this way. I guess I thought it would be embarrassing to be outdone by my little sister. That's why I tried so hard to be better than you. I didn't mean to hurt you." Brittney had also joined in the cry fest. "I don't blame you for being mad at me, and I won't blame you if you never want to see me again. All I can do is apologize, and hope that you can forgive me. I'm sorry. Please, don't hate me."

"I don't hate you. You're my sister, I could never hate you. I forgive you for how you've treated me, and I hope that we can just start fresh. I want to be on good terms with you before you leave. I'm really tired so I'm going to go to bed." Taylor turned around to go up the stairs.

"Wait, Taylor?" Taylor turned back around. "Thank you." Brittney moved to Taylor and gave her sister a hug. "I love you, Taylor."

"I love you, too."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next day had come and Lex was finishing up his lunch. 12:25 and counting. In 35 minutes Lex would be meeting Maria at the park.

"Hey Lex." Daley had come into the kitchen. She sat down at the table next to him. "So, you and Maria, huh?"

"Huh?"

"Nathan told me that you two have a thing for each other, and that you have a date."

Lex was a little stricken. "Um, well, yeah, yeah, we do. I don't know. I really like her, Day."

"I know you do. That's why I'm not that upset that you lied to me."

"Oh, sorry about that. I should have told you the truth."

"I understand. What time is your date?" She asked.

Lex looked at the clock. "At one o'clock. I better get going. Bye Daley."

"Bye. Have fun."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Maria had arrived at the park a little bit early so she went to her usual spot; the swings. A few minutes later she saw Lex walking up to her. He sat down on the empty seat to her left and smiled.

"Hey Lex."

"Hey, Maria." There was a slight pause. "So I was thinking. We start school in a few weeks, and I thought maybe it would be cool if we could go as, boyfriend and girlfriend."

"You're asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"Well, yeah. I am. So what do you say?"

She leaned over and gave him a kiss. "I would love to be your girlfriend."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(Let's fast forward to the first day of school, shall we? I know I'm skipping ahead a little bit, but just work with me people. Work with me!)

_Beep...Beep...Beep..._

Jackson woke up from his last night of freedom to the sound of his very loud, very annoying, alarm clock. Rolling over he read the clock. 6:30. Only an hour till he had to leave the house. Slowly he made his way out of his bed and to the other side of the room where Nick slept.

"Hey!" He threw a pillow at him. "It's time to get up. I'm leaving in an hour and you're either in the car with me or you're walking."

Walking into the kitchen he turned on the news so he could hear the weather. He made himself a bowl of cereal and grabbed a glass of juice. Sitting down at the breakfast bar he saw Dannie coming down the stairs. She was sporting sky blue pajamas with clouds on them and she was clutching a stuffed dog that she had so cleverly named, pup.

"Good morning, sunshine. Do you want some breakfast?"

She nodded as she yawned, so he got up and poured her a bowl of Lucky Charms and set it down in front of her.

"Thank you." She muttered, still drowsy.

"Your welcome." He set back down and continued to eat his cereal. "So, I'm going back to school today. I won't be home until later on in the day."

"I'll be alone?"

"Well not exactly. You're going to pre-kindergarten on Tuesday and Thursday. It's in the elementary school with Kim and Karen. And me and Nick will be right next door, so if you really need me I can come see you." He noted the scared look on her face. "I promise that you will be fine, but don't worry to much. Today's Monday, so you won't go until tomorrow."

Looking up at the clock he noticed that he only had about a half an hour left. "Better go check if the girls are up. And probably Nick too." As he passed the little girl sitting at the table he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. Running up the stairs to the girls' room he passed his own and saw Nick trying to decide which of his shirts were the cleanest. He heard the water running in the girls' bathroom and went to the door where he saw Karen brushing her teeth.

"Where is Kim?"

She spit out the toothpaste in her mouth. "In her bed."

"Still? I'm leaving in a half an hour. She has to be ready by then." He went into the girls' room. All three girls shared the room. There was a single twin bed at one side where Danielle slept, and a set of bunk beds where Karen slept on the bottom, and Kim slept on the top.

He walked over to the bunk bed and being tall he didn't have to climb up to reach the top. He lightly nudged Kim awake. "Kim, you need to get up and get ready. I have to leave in thirty minutes and you need to be in the car with me."

Kim groaned. "Can't we leave a little bit later?"

"No. You know I have to pick up Melissa on the way to school. Now get out of the bed, get dressed, brush your teeth, and get some breakfast." He lifted her out of the bunk and set her in front of the closet. "I'll be expecting to see you downstairs in ten minutes, okay?" He left the room and went back downstairs.

Twenty minutes later, everyone was in the kitchen. Nick and Kim were finishing up breakfast, and the others were watching T.V., waiting for them to finish. When they were done they all headed out to the car. Jackson stopped to hug Dannie. "Try to have fun today kiddo, I'll see you later. And remember, you're coming with us tomorrow."

"Bye Jackson." She whispered as he walked out of the front door.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Melissa was waiting by herself for Jackson to pick her up. Her sister, Merelynd, had decided it was nice enough to walk to school. Her parents let her go by herself because it wasn't that far, and she was thirteen.

Soon enough she saw Jackson's car pull into her driveway. She locked her front door and got into the car.

When they got to school, Nick immediately left for the middle school. Jackson and Melissa had walked with Karen and Kim to make sure they got to their class. After everyone else was settled they went to the high school. In high school you didn't get your schedule until the first day. The guidance counselor told them that most of the crash survivors had the majority of classes together and they all had lunch together. Their lockers were in the same area, although not next to each other.

Standing at Jackson's locker with him, Melissa saw the rest of the gang approaching them.

As everyone started to fill the school, people had started to stare at them. They all had started to feel uncomfortable but tried to ignore it.

"Well," Nathan started. "Ready or not, here we go."

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So there it is. I don't know why but I really enjoyed writing the fight between Taylor and Brittney. They sort of remind me of Sadie and Jude Harrison from Instant Star. In a way, I guess. And for a little fun, can you guys find the quote from an episode of Degrassi and a quote from an episode of Boy Meets World? They aren't too hard to find, but if you can't and you want to know just ask me to tell you what they are.


	7. A Bad First Day

Okay…so let's just get right down to it. Here is the next chapter of the story. Hope you enjoy it.

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Chapter 7- A Bad First Day

English. The first period of the day. Luckily they all had it together. But it didn't exactly help when they all had to sit quietly and listen to the not so arousing story of Hamlet, while the glares of the other classmates were making the air so tense you could cut it with a knife.

Melissa tried to stay awake as she watched her teacher aimlessly write on the chalkboard. "So what do you think Ophelia was really feeling when..." Melissa tuned out the teacher and instead turned her face a little to the left where Jackson was sitting two rows over and two seats in front of her.

She could tell he wasn't really trying to pay attention either. He had taken to doodling on his notebook instead of trying to make sense of what the teacher was saying. Her attention was pulled away from him when the girl sitting next to her, Amelia Jones, whispered to her.

"So, the new guy. Did you get to know him after the crash?"

Melissa turned more towards her. "His name is Jackson, and he's my boyfriend." She said this matter of factly, she wanted to give her the minimal facts and not any details. She didn't want to start talking about the crash and what had happened.

"So what was it like? Being on that island. Not knowing what was going to happen." Melissa was shocked that she would be asking her this. Amelia wasn't the nicest girl in the world but she had a heart. Her voice wasn't quite as quiet anymore and the people sitting closest to them could now hear their conversation.

Melissa turned towards the front and tried to pay attention to the teacher.

But Amelia was persistent. "Was it scary?"

"I'm trying to pay attention here." Melissa had hoped she would just give up. But she didn't.

"Come on Melissa, I just want to know what it was like. Why can't you tell me? Unless, there's really not that much to tell."

"Can you just leave me alone? It's none of your business what happened okay. So why don't you just turn around and shut up!" Melissa was a little surprised at herself. She wasn't normally this angry but she felt Amelia didn't have the right to make her talk about what had happened. She hadn't realized how much she had raised her voice either. Not only could the people around her hear, but the rest of the class heard too, along with the teacher.

She looked towards Jackson and he seemed a little taken aback by her outburst. He wasn't used to seeing her being anything but sweet and kind.

"Melissa?" The teacher had pulled her attention away from Jackson. "Would you please go sit in the hall for the remainder of class? You can leave when the bell rings."

Melissa gathered up her things and went into the hall. She sat down beside the door and heard the teacher continue on with his lesson. "So as Hamlet began to..."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was true. Lex was smart. He didn't have to try very hard in any subject to get an A. Maria wasn't as smart as Lex though and she did have to try.

They had been lucky enough to be sat close in World History. Lex had sat right behind Maria. He noticed as the teacher was talking Maria was frantically scribbling down notes. He leaned forward to her.

"Um, Maria? What are you doing?"

"I'm taking notes. I want to do well this year, so I need to start strong."

"Maria, it's the first day. Mr. Blackwell is just giving us information of what the class will be like."

"Oh, yeah, well. Never mind then." She put her pencil down.

Lex knew she would do fine. If she ever had any trouble in a class he would help her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Ring..._

Finally the bell rang to end first period. Melissa remained seated as people started filing out of their classes.

"Hey killer." Melissa looked up to see Jackson standing in front of her. "Can I help you up or are you going to snap at me?" Melissa nodded and Jackson pulled her up.

"I don't know why I snapped like that. I feel awful. I've never been one for confrontation, why now?"

Jackson pulled her into a hug. "She was asking you questions on a very personal subject. It affected you and you fought back cause you knew what really happened out there wasn't a joke."

Melissa pulled out of the hug. "It definitely wasn't a joke."

"We've got some time before our next class, do you want to go sit outside and talk, let off some steam?

Melissa shrugged. "I guess so."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Hey Day." Nathan said as he approached his locker, which was right next to Daley's.

"Hey." She closed her locker and leaned on it facing Nathan. "Can you believe Melissa's outburst in English today?"

"What I can't believe is that Amelia would ask her something so personal." Nathan removed his calculus book from his locker. "Can you hold this?" She took the book.

"I mean everyone knows what happened. Why would they stoop so low and ask us about it?" He said as he reached way into the back of his locker; his shoulders stopping him from going any further.

"They only know an overview of what happened. Given the information, it's only natural that they would want to know more. I'm not saying that I encourage them asking questions, and I certainly am not going to answer any of them, but I can understand their fascination with it." She watched as he continued to search for something beyond his reach and raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, Nathan? What are you looking for?"

"I put a pencil in here this morning. I can't find it now."

She stopped him from searching in the locker and reached over. She pulled out a pencil that was behind his ear. "Here."

"Oh. There it is." Great. Now he felt really stupid. "Now I feel really stupid."

"You're not stupid. It's just a weird day. Tomorrow will be better."

"Let us pray." He closed his locker and he and Daley headed toward their next class.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Despite the day beginning so terribly, it was a beautiful day outside. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and so Jackson and Melissa decided to take some time to sit under a tree on the lawn. Jackson had taken to lying on his stomach and resting his head on his arms while Melissa sat against the tree beside him.

"What do people want from us? We were trapped on a deserted island not vacationing in Maui. They have no right to question us about what happened."

Jackson looked up at her. "Amelia doesn't think sometimes. She needs a filter between her brain and her mouth in case she says something stupid." He thought he would get a laugh out of her.

He didn't. "It's not just Amelia. It's everybody. Look around. They're staring at us like were some sort of weird science experiment. They want to ask us. Can't you feel it?"

Jackson knew what she meant. He had felt the tension all morning. "Yes, I can. But throughout my life I've learned to ignore people."

"Well I haven't." She looked away as if remembering. "All I can think about is everything that happened. What might have happened. Everyday I relive things that happened on that island. I see it during the day, at night, in my dreams. It's almost as if I can't escape it."

He got up and kneeled in front of her. "But you did. We survived and we're fine now." She still didn't look at him. "I never knew you felt this way. Whenever I've seen you, you've always seemed okay."

She finally looked at him. "When I'm with you it doesn't happen."

"Then I'll just have to be around you more often." He gave her a smile. She gave one back.

"I should apologize shouldn't I? To Amelia." She asked.

"Well, although she did deserve to have you yell at her, I think that may be wise. Just so she doesn't hold a grudge against you and plot revenge at the 10 year reunion."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be good. I'll apologize tomorrow." The warning bell rang and Jackson pulled her up from her spot on the ground.

"Okay, let's go to class now before we're late on our first day. Who's in it with us?" Jackson asked as they started to walk towards their next class.

"It's just us. This is one of the classes where were all split up."

"Well, as long as I'm with you I'll be fine." Jackson gave her a smile.

"Me too."

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Well…what did you think? Tell me in a review. I'll really appreciate it!


	8. What Happened?

Okay. Here is the next chapter. Since I've been on break I've been able to write more, so enjoy it while it lasts.

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Chapter 8- What Happened?

"Finally it's lunchtime! I thought it would never get here."

"Eric, do you always think about food?" Nathan asked him as they sat down at the table.

"Not all of the time. Just when I'm hungry." He dug his fork into his Macaroni and Cheese and proceeded to stuff his face.

Taylor looked at him in disgust. "Yeah, which is all of the time." She looked around the table. "Jackson, where's Melissa?"

"She went to the restroom. She should be here soon." He looked around the courtyard for her.

Daley looked too. "I hope she didn't get stopped by someone asking her questions about the crash."

"Oh, no. Look who's heading this way." They all looked in the direction Taylor was looking. Amelia Jones was walking towards their table. This time she had her little 'Amelianettes'; Cassandra and Stacey. Amelia was the ringleader. The other two just followed her lead.

"Hey guys! What's going on?" Amelia called as she came closer.

"Um, it's lunchtime. Were eating lunch." Nathan said as Amelia and her followers reached the table.

"Well, can I sit down?" With Amelia that usually wasn't a question.

"Yeah, whatever."

She took the empty seat next to Jackson. The seat that if Melissa were there, she would occupy. "So Jackson is it?" He nodded. "I don't know if you know me, I'm Amelia Jones." She extended her hand towards him.

He didn't bother to shake it. "I know who you are. You verbally harassed my girlfriend this morning, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Melissa. I'm really sorry about that. I was just really curious." She scooted closer to him. "If she would have just told me what happened..."

"No. She doesn't have to tell you what happened. None of us do. It's personal information and you have no right to ask us about it."

"Gee, I'm sorry. It'll never happen again. I promise." She slid out from the table and started to move away but after taking a few steps turned back around. "Oh and Jackson. If you ever need help catching up on your schoolwork, don't hesitate to ask." She waved goodbye and her and Stacey and Cassandra left the courtyard.

"Wow, she wasn't insanely obvious. Can you believe she took a serious situation and turned it into a way to flirt with you." Daley asked.

"It doesn't matter. I love Melissa. There is no way I'll be asking Amelia for help anytime soon."

Nathan looked around. "Shouldn't Melissa be here by now?"

"Yeah she should." Jackson stood up. "I'm going to go look for her."

Daley stood up next to him. "I better go with you. You're going to need me to check the bathrooms. We'll see you guys later." Daley reached down and kissed Nathan on the cheek.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Lunch, Lunch, Lunch. Oh Lunch, Lunch, Lunch!" Maria sang as she and Lex picked a table in the Cafeteria.

"Why are you making up a song about lunch?"

"Because Lunch is the best time of the school day. It's a time to unwind and to de-stress." Maria started to eat her Chicken Nuggets.

"How much unwinding and de-stressing do you need?" Lex took a bite of his Chicken salad sandwich.

"Trust me, after a few weeks of school I will need a lot of de-stressing. School is such a stressful place. I mean they make us sit for hours on end listening to the most pointless information, try to cram our brains with stuff we wont even need we were older, give us tons of homework and projects to do outside of school, and they expect us to remember and regurgitate it on tests. Come on Lex, tell me that isn't stressful."

"Sure it's stressful sometimes but I find schoolwork to be a challenge and that's why I like it. I like challenges.

"Well I don't like challenges that are school related. Schools tough for me, I'm not smart like you are."

Lex put down his sandwich. "What do you mean, of course you're smart."

"Sure I get decent grades. But I have to work really hard just for the grades that I get. You...you barely have to try and you get great grades. I wish things would come easily for me. I hardly understand what goes on in any of my classes."

"I can help you. I can help you to understand. We can get together and go over what happened in our classes."

"Really? You would do that?"

"Sure I would Maria. I am your boyfriend you know. And even if I weren't, I'd still help you, cause you're my best friend."

"Thank you Lex. Your my best friend too."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"You know what's also great about lunch? They let you get seconds." Eric had just returned from the line with his second lunch.

"I think you must have two stomachs. You're like a cow." Taylor looked at his plate in disgust.

"Taylor, cows have four stomachs." Nathan corrected her.

"Well, how ever many stomachs cows have, you eat like one Eric." She reached over and stole a fry off of his plate.

"And you say this as you steal food from me."

"Hey, you've had two lunches. I only ate half of mine." Taylor stated.

"That's your own problem."

"No it isn't. My salad lettuce was soggy. How was I supposed to eat soggy lettuce?" She asked him.

"Well, maybe, you shouldn't have drenched it in Italian dressing."

"Um, excuse me. Thelma and Louise." Nathan had interrupted them. "Can you stop talking about your soggy salad and your four stomachs for a second? I'm wondering why Jackson and Daley aren't back with Melissa yet."

"Dey pobly jus god caud up wid somedin." Eric mumbled as he ate.

"Do you want to maybe chew your food before you speak, Neanderthal." Nathan asked Eric.

Eric swallowed. "They probably just got caught up with something. Chill 'Father' they'll be back."

"I guess you're right. Hey Eric, you better hurry before they close the dessert line."

"Oh no!" Eric quickly got up. "I'll be right back."

"Nathan." Taylor got his attention. "I didn't know we had a dessert line."

"We don't."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Where would she just disappear to?" Daley and Jackson had been searching for a while now.

"I'm not sure Daley. We've checked the library, the gym, and the office. I don't know where else she would go."

"Jackson, you don't think she left the school do you?"

"No. She wouldn't have left without telling me first. She told me she was going to the bathroom. I know girls take a long time in the bathroom but Melissa doesn't take this long."

"Hold on Jackson. I'm going to check this bathroom. Maybe she's in there." Daley headed into the bathroom.

"Okay I'll just wait out here."

'This is nuts.' Jackson thought. 'Where would she be? And why would she go anywhere? She would want to be with all of them at lunch. Weird.'

"Jackson! Get in here!"

When Jackson heard Daley scream he quickly ran into the bathroom. There he saw Melissa slumped against the wall and the pool of blood on the floor. Running over to her he called out her name.

"Melissa. Melissa can you hear me?" He picked up her wrist to check for a pulse. "Daley, go get help." Daley quickly ran out of the bathroom.

"Don't worry Mel. I'm going to get you help, okay."

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Ooooh. What happened to Melissa? Review and tell me what you thought of this chapter. Next chapter is in process. Hopefully it will be done in a decent amount of time.


	9. I Know The Truth

I'm so sorry for the late arrival of this chapter

I'm so sorry for the late arrival of this chapter. You all know how it is, days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months. I've been so busy with our school musical for the past few months. We're working overtime cause we missed so many rehearsals because of snow. Enjoy the chapter.--

* * *

Chapter 9- I know the truth

"No change?" Nathan asked as he came back from the snack machine.

"No. She's still out of it." Daley moved over on the couch so that Nathan could sit down. They had all been in the waiting room for hours. There were too many of them to wait in her room, especially because Melissa's parents were in it with her. The doctors said they weren't able to tell them much when they got there, so they had just been waiting for when she woke up.

Jackson had been staring out of the window for a while now.

"Hey, Jackson. Are you alright? You haven't said anything since we've been here." Daley moved over to where Jackson was sitting by the window.

"I should have gone with her. I shouldn't have let her go by herself. It was the first day, people were asking questions. After what happened with Amelia in class I should have stayed with her."

"No one knew anything bad was going to happen. You can't blame yourself." Daley placed her hand on his shoulder and he looked back at her.

"I'll stop blaming myself when she wakes up." He turned his head back towards the window.

One of the doctors that had been treating Melissa came out of her room. He addressed everyone in the waiting room.

"Now that her parents have been informed I can tell you the extent of Melissa's injuries. Melissa received what seem to be stab wounds on her arms and in her abdomen. She lost a decent amount of blood which is why she's unconscious, but we're giving her more so she should wake up in a bit."

Nathan spoke up. "Wait, stab wounds? How did that happen?"

"We wont know until she wakes up unfortunately. But she'll be alright. Soon you may all go in to see her."

He left the waiting room and headed back down the hall.

* * *

After a few hours Melissa's parents walked out of her room.

"She woke up a little bit ago. She wants to see you guys." Melissa's mother said as she and Melissa's father left the waiting room to get something to eat.

"Jackson do you want to go in first, we could come in later." Nathan asked him.

"No, I think we should all go in. I'll stay later after you guys leave." Jackson stood up and everyone followed his lead. Together they walked into her room to see her.

"Mel." They all took a seat somewhere in her room. "How are you feeling?" Jackson had asked as he pulled a chair next to her bed.

"I feel like I've been stabbed." She joked with them.

"Mel. Do you remember what happened at all?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah I remember. Although it doesn't seem real, it seems like I dreamed it all. But it must be real. I have stab wounds to prove it." She looked at everyone in the room. "I guess you want to hear the story."

Jackson spoke up. "You don't have to tell us now if you don't want to."

"No. It's okay. I'll tell you."

* * *

Flashback

Melissa walked out of the stall in the east wing bathroom, and quickly walked over to wash her hands. Amelia's words were still eating away at her. How could she think that crashing on that island wasn't a horrifying experience for all of them, and that they would rather not talk about it. How could she be so cruel? Melissa couldn't understand how anyone could be that heartless.

"Hello, Melissa." Melissa looked up into the mirror. There was Amelia and her two friends.

"Amelia, I just want to apologize for how I snapped at you this morning. I shouldn't have. I'm sorry." Better to take the high road, right?

"Gee, that sure is nice of you. Apology accepted."

Melissa waited for Amelia to go into the stall or wash her hands but she didn't. She kept on staring at Melissa. "Did you need something?" She reached over and grabbed some paper towels and dried off her hands.

Amelia walked over closer to her. "Not exactly."

"Then why are you here?" Melissa threw her paper towels away.

"It's not fair."

"What's not fair?" Melissa didn't know what she meant.

"That just because you and your friends survived a plane crash you get special treatment. Everyone treats you differently. Your lockers are together, and your classes are together. Face it, this school treats you like royalty."

Melissa couldn't believe it. Amelia was attacking her again. "Are you kidding me? What do you think it was like out on that island? Do you think we were partying and sleeping the day away? We were working hard to survive and to get off of that island. And we all nearly died multiple times. It was a lot more work than you've probably ever done in your life."

"Oh, boo hoo. Little Melissa almost died. What a tragedy." She snapped her fingers and instantly Stacey and Cassandra grabbed an arm on Melissa and put her up against the wall.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Maybe it's time we teach you all a lesson." Amelia reached into her back pocket and pulled out a knife. "This will remind you guys to stay in your place."

"Amelia, you can't just stab me." Melissa didn't think she could possibly be that evil.

"Oh, I think I can. And," She looked around the bathroom. "Look, there's no one around to save you. What a shame."

As Amelia plunged the knife into Melissa's arm, she gave a painful cry. Stab after stab Melissa started to go numb. After one final stab in Melissa's stomach, Amelia wiped off the knife and stuck it back in her pocket. "Let's go girls."

The girls let go of Melissa and she slid to the ground in pain.

Amelia and the girls reached the door, but before they left Amelia turned around. "Oh, and Melissa." Melissa raised her head to listen. "Between you and me, I kind of have a thing for your boyfriend."

Melissa watched as Amelia, Stacey and Cassandra left the bathroom. It was the last thing she saw before she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Then I woke up here. They told me that Jackson and Daley found me in the bathroom and the ambulance brought me to the hospital."

"That girl is pure evil." Taylor said from her spot on Eric's lap due to the lack of chairs in the room. "I can't believe she could stab somebody without feeling guilty."

Jackson squeezed her hand. "I should have gone with you. If I were, this wouldn't have happened."

"Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. I'm fine."

"And I couldn't be more thankful that you're alright, but this could have been a lot worse Melissa. She could have killed you."

"Yeah." Nathan agreed. "And over what? Jealousy on her part."

"That's not the only reason she stabbed her." They all looked at Daley as she spoke. "Remember the story. When she left she told Melissa that she had a thing for Jackson. And at lunch, she was flirting with him." She looked at Jackson. "She wants Mel out of the way so she can have you."

"Well she can't have me." He looked towards Melissa.

She looked back at him. "What was that about lunch?"

Eric spoke. "Oh, it was Macaroni and Cheese. It wasn't bad either, and I went back for a second lunch..."

"I meant with Amelia, but thanks for that Eric." Melissa stopped him.

Jackson told her what had happened. "She found us at lunch. She sat down next to me. I told her what she did in class was wrong, she fake apologized, flirted with me by offering to help me with school then left."

"When was that? What time?"

"Um, I think about 12:25. Why?"

"She found me in the bathroom at 12:10. I know because I had to move my watch out of the way to wash my hands." Melissa looked at Jackson as he made the connection.

"That means she had already hurt you by the time she came to talk to us. She was talking to us about you while knowing perfectly well that you could have been lying in the bathroom dying." Jackson stood up. "That bitch!"

"Jackson calm down." Nathan stood up next to him and tried to keep him calm. "We're going to tell the police what happened and they will deal with her, okay?"

"Okay, but she better keep her distance or I'm going to put a restraining order on her ass." He sat back down.

"It's getting late. We better get going guys." Daley said and they all stood up. They all said their goodbyes to Jackson and Melissa and left the hospital.

Jackson looked back at Melissa when she spoke. "Some first day huh?"

"Yeah, it's been quite a day."

"I'm sorry. I know your vision of your first day back didn't include a stabbing and a trip to the hospital."

Jackson reached out to hold her hand. "Definitely not how I would want to picture any day.

"When can I leave the hospital?" She looked at him as he shifted a little in his chair.

"Well, you have to stay for at least a few days so they can run tests and make sure you're holding the blood they gave you. After that we'll see." He picked up her hand in his.

"I've never been in a hospital before. Not as a patient at least. It's really creepy. I don't much care for it."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "I don't much care for it either."

They were silent for a while until Melissa looked him in the eyes. "What about Amelia?"

"Tomorrow we will call the police and tell them what happened. After what she did, I doubt we'll be seeing her for a long time."

"How do you know that? What if they don't believe us? What if she lies and tells them a different story?"

"It's all of us against her, they're bound to believe us. And if she tries to lie about it, you've got the stab wounds to prove it." He got up and moved himself to sit down on the bed with her. "I promise you Melissa, that girl is never going to lay a hand on you ever again."

"Okay. Do you want to lay down?"

"The couch is a little small, I can't really lay down on it."

She laughed at him. "I don't mean on the couch, I meant with me."

"If you want me to." He got up off of her bed.

"I do want you to. Can you help me move over?"

He reached down to help her move to one side of the bed. "Yes, I can." Together she made it to one side of the bed with just a bit of pain flowing through Melissa. "Are you alright? Did that hurt too much?"

"A bit, but it's going away." She padded the spot next to her. "Come lay down."

He lay down on the bed next to her and she shifted a little to snuggle into his side.

"Thank You." She said to him.

He looked over at her. "There's no need to thank me. It was my fault this happened to you. After what happened in class today, I should have gone with you. And if you're thanking me for finding you and saving your life, well, there's still no need to thank me. There was no way I wasn't going to help you. But, you're welcome all the same." Jackson was starting to ramble.

"Thank you for saving my life. But, I wasn't talking about that."

"Then what were you talking about?" He asked.

"Thank you, for coming on the trip with us."

He knew what she was talking about. That was what changed there lives forever. If Melissa hadn't convinced him to go to Palau with them, he would have never become friends with them all. He would have never gotten to know Melissa and wouldn't be dating her this very day. He would never regret his decision to go.

He pulled her in closer to him. "You're welcome." And with that they both fell asleep on the hospital bed. Tomorrow would be hard enough for Melissa to relive the memories as she tells the police. They were both happy to be getting some much-needed sleep.

* * *

Now you all know what happened to Melissa. Aren't you happy? Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter. Please and Thank You.


	10. Soon the pain will go

Well, I've started back up on this chapter of my story. And it isn't my favorite, but I still think it's alright. This chapter involves Jackson and Melissa only. Sorry that I didn't include the others, but I will include them in the next chapter. Enjoy this one though…..

Chapter 10-Soon the pain will go

"Thank you Miss Wu. I'm sure with this information we can track her down. Once everything is in place, you'll be able to testify against her and a judge will decide what will happen to her."

"Thank you" Melissa said as the police officers who were investigating her case left the hospital room.

As they were leaving Jackson walked back in with a sandwich in his hand. "What did they say?"

"They said you should let me have a bite of that sandwich." She looked at him with sad eyes.

"You already ate lunch." But he couldn't resist that look. "Fine." He unwrapped it and handed it to her.

"I ate lunch two hours ago. My lunch is at 11 remember? Besides, hospital food is great unless you're in a hospital bed. Then they jip you on the good stuff." She took a bite. "Mmmm. You don't know how good this is."

"I wish I did." He laughed. "You can have that. I'll go get another one."

"No, don't go. You can have it." She held it out to him.

"Are you sure you don't want such a delicious sandwich?" He joked with her.

"I'll give it up for you to stay with me."

He pulled the chair up next to her bed. "I wanted to stay with you while you told the police what happened. I didn't want you to relive that by yourself. But I wasn't allowed to stay. The officers said it was policy."

"I know you couldn't. I wanted you to also."

"What did they say would happen to her?" He asked.

"They said they would take her in for questioning and the evidence against her is enough for a trial. Then I have to testify against her in court and the judge will have to decide what happens to her."

"Well I will be with you every step of the way. No matter what happens Mel." He reached down to her level for a kiss.

"Speaking of steps, would you mind helping me get out of this bed?" She asked.

"Melissa, you have to stay in this bed for a bit longer. You may not be connected to any wires anymore, but you can't be moving around." He insisted.

"I know that, dad. I just have to go to the bathroom." She laughed. "Could you just help me up?"

"Oh, of course. Sorry." He moved to the hospital bed, reached down and picked up Melissa in his arms.

"You don't have to carry me you know. The bathroom isn't that far."

"I know that, but your body isn't as strong as it usually is, and I'm not taking any chances of you falling and hurting yourself." He set her down in front of the bathroom door.

"You know when you aren't here the nurse let me walk to the bathroom by myself." She smiled up at him.

"Oh yeah?" He smiled back at her. "Well the nurses don't care about you the way I do. To them, you're their patient. To me, you're my girlfriend, my best friend, and if I were to lose you I wouldn't know what to do with myself. So as long as I'm here, I would prefer if you don't walk around by yourself. At least let me assist you."

"Alright, I promise you."

"Seal it with a kiss?" He asked.

She reached up and kissed him. "Now can I use the restroom?"

"Yeah, sorry. Go right ahead. Let me know when you've finished and I'll help you back to your bed." He opened the bathroom door and allowed Melissa to go inside. Closing the door he took a seat on the chair.

Melissa did find it a bit difficult to move around by herself, but she found it more difficult to lay in that bed 24/7. She felt that if she didn't get up occasionally she was going to go insane. She would go to the bathroom more often than necessary just so she could walk around. Melissa pushed down on the rail on the wall to raise herself up from the toilet. She turned on the tap and waited for the temperature to adjust. She took a longer time to wash her hands than normal so that she could stay out of bed longer. Once she thought she had stalled enough she opened the door and called to Jackson.

"Jackson? I'm finished."

"Okay." He stood up next to her and placed his arm around her waist. She waited for him to pick her up but to her surprise he didn't. "Mel, in order to get to the bed you have to start walking."

"You aren't going to carry me?" She asked. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, just, after that speech you gave me I figured I wouldn't be doing anything by myself for a long time."

"Well I thought a little bit about it and as long as I'm helping you I will let you walk back to bed."

"Melissa put her hand over her heart and opened her mouth in mock shock. "I can walk back to bed? Instead of being carried? I've never felt so privileged."

Jackson laughed. "Hey now, if you're going to make fun maybe I'll just…" He lifted her up into his arms and started to carry her to the bed.

"Jackson. That's not fair. Put me down." She screamed at him.

"What was that? Put you down? Alright then." He placed her down onto the bed. "There, you're down."

"That was not nice." She tried to put on a mad face.

"You shouldn't pout darling, it doesn't suit you." He sat down on the bed next to her.

Jackson reached over and carefully started to trace the healing wounds on Melissa's arms. "You're too great of a person to have this happen to you. I just don't understand."

"It's not about what kind of a person I am. It just happened. It's no ones fault." She grabbed the hand that was tracing her wounds. "Are you starting to blame yourself again?"

"No, it's just that…I've seen a lot of tragedy happen in my life. Where I'm from, a lot of things happen. A lot of accidents happen. And the people that become the victims of violence, they aren't bad people and there's no reason for what happened to them."

"I'm sorry that your life has been filled with so much tragedy and heartache, Jackson." She picked up his other hand. " But you have to understand that not everyone is a bad person. Not everyone is out to get you."

"It isn't me that Amelia went after. It was you she went after to get to me." He sighed. "I can't let that happen again."

"Jackson, what are you saying?" Are you breaking up with me?"

"No, Mel. I love you, and I don't want to be without you. What I'm saying is that I'm afraid that this could happen again. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that it doesn't."

She placed her hand on his cheek. "That's nice of you. But Jackson, you need to watch out for yourself too. It's not just me this could happen to." She removed her hand.

"I'm bigger than you though. I can fight back. But with you, you're smaller, not to mention weak right now. If this happens again you won't be able to defend yourself."

She stood up from the bed. "Whose to say that it will happen again, Jackson?"

"Melissa you shouldn't be standing up." Jackson said to her.

"What makes you think that something like this will happen again? Do you think that Stacey and Cassandra are going to avenge Amelia and attack one of us." She was starting to rant and raise her voice. Jackson knew that she just getting out her anger that she normally held in. Being the happy cheerful Melissa that everyone knew, she often kept in any anger she felt.

"Mel, please. I'm asking you to sit down."

"Because once Amelia's gone, I'm pretty sure Cassandra and Stacey are going to be excited that they no longer have to listen to her. They will be happy that they can be their own person."

"Melissa, now I'm telling you. Sit down." He said sternly.

"You know Jackson, you can't keep living your life in fear. You could walk out of this hospital tonight and get hit by a bus. You could fall and hit your head when you return home. You just don't know Jackson." She was moving now. Pacing back and forth in the room.

"Melissa, you can't be…."

"Ow!" Melissa crumbled to the floor.

Jackson quickly ran to her. "Mel, are you okay? Don't move." He reached over to the end of her bed and pressed the red button on it. "Hold on. Is it okay for me to pick you up?"

"I think so." She winced in pain as he carried her to the bed.

He laid her in the bed. "Sorry."

As soon as he had put her down a women in scrubs rushed into the room. Obviously one of her nurses, Jackson thought. Perhaps this is one of the nurses that had been letting her walk to the bathroom by herself. Well look at what letting her walk around by herself has done.

"What seems to be the problem?" the nurse asked.

"She was walking around and all of a sudden she was on the floor in pain." Jackson informed the nurse.

The nurse went over to Melissa. "I'll take a look." She checked over her wounds and replaced a few bandages. "Nothing seems to be wrong externally. No bleeding or anything. But when you were moving around you must have twisted yourself. The stabs in your abdomen went pretty deep so you are going to be sore. When you twisted, you could feel the pain become more intense. That's why we only let you walk to the bathroom."

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Melissa apologized to the nurse.

"She promises." Jackson looked at Melissa and gave her a stern look, telling her that he wasn't joking around.

"Well, this medicine will take the pain down. You can take it whenever you wish today." She placed the cup of three pills on the bedside table.

"Thank you." Melissa said to the nurse as she stepped out of the room.

Melissa looked over at Jackson. His face held the look she had seen last. The stern look that told her he wasn't happy with her. She understood why.

"I know what you're going to say. I told you so."

Without saying anything he reached over to take her hand. Raising it to his mouth he kissed it. "Don't do that again. In a few days you will be better and then you can rant and let out all of the anger that you want, but not here, when you are in pain. Alright?"

"Alright."

Melissa took her hand away from him and carefully rolled over onto her side as best as she could, facing away from Jackson. As he saw her body start to shake slightly he knew she had started to cry. He leaned forward to get closer to her.

"Mel, what's wrong?"

She didn't turn towards him, or even acknowledge that she heard him. So he got out of the chair and climbed into the bed with her. Rubbing her back he asked again, "Mel, something's on your mind. Do you want to tell me what it is?"

"I want to go home so bad. I really hate this hospital." She turned as well as she could towards him. "But once I leave here, everything changes. I have to go back to school and worry about Stacey and Cassandra. I have to go to court against Amelia and be face to face with her. I haven't seen her since that day in the bathroom, but that scene replays in my head more than I would like it to. It's been a nightmare since I've been here."

He reached for her and pulled her to lie down next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Melissa, listen to me. I get it. Trust me I do. The nightmares…that's to be expected. But once you get out of here we can put Amelia where she belongs and trust me, Stacey and Cassandra are probably going right along with her. They were in on it too. You won't have to worry about them anymore. I'll be with you…nothing will happen. I promise you.

"Okay. I just want it to be over." She was still crying softly.

"It will be soon. Try to get some sleep. Do you need anything?" He asked her.

"Stay with me?" She looked at him and pleaded with her eyes.

"You've got it." He snuggled a bit closer to her and after a few moments both were sound asleep.

Well that's chapter 10. Let me know what you thought by giving me a review….


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